How Does Reshaping the IRS Help You?

Improvements to Hopefully Come

Recently, legislation has been brought to Congress to redesign the Internal Revenue Service into a taxpayer-first agency. Taxpayer-first means the agency will focus on service instead of just enforcement and collections. Not only that, but the bill will also have the agency invest in technology. All in all, the bill expects the IRS to implement vast improvements as well as continuing all the existing tasks it already performs. It is important to note that all these changes seem great especially since the last reform brought to the IRS was the Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998.

Here are a couple of changes in the making, noted by Alexander Reid of the law firm Morgan Lewis.

One change is that the IRS will have to notify an individual taxpayer for an audit before contacting friends, neighbors or clients.

Secondly, taxpayers in a collection dispute will have access to IRS Appeals. IRS Appeals is a low-cost form for sorting out legal troubles instead of the costly and timely nature of courts. Additionally, instead of IRS Appeals being thought of as a court of law it will take after a court of equity. So, more information can be considered when determining the outcome of a dispute.

Possible Drawbacks

Where will the funding come from? Is congress expecting too much from the already underfunded and understaffed agency?